Opinion – Union County Weeklyhttp://unioncountyweekly.com
About the community, for the communityThu, 08 Dec 2016 22:51:20 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.5.4Morning Note: Losing time, gaining poundshttp://unioncountyweekly.com/news/opinion/2016/12/morning-note-losing-time-gaining-pounds/
http://unioncountyweekly.com/news/opinion/2016/12/morning-note-losing-time-gaining-pounds/#respondThu, 08 Dec 2016 21:51:39 +0000http://unioncountyweekly.com/?p=21194I had hoped my Morning Note column would go online just as I’m starting my day, but deadline pressure over the past couple of days has pushed them into late afternoon.

Time certainly goes by faster when you’re the editor of a newspaper. There was a time when I’d arrive at the office and yearn for 11 a.m., so that I could waddle over to the nearby Arby’s and gorge myself on meat and milkshakes. These days, two hours literally seems like two seconds.

]]>http://unioncountyweekly.com/news/opinion/2016/12/morning-note-losing-time-gaining-pounds/feed/0Morning Note: My no-good cell phone, part 11http://unioncountyweekly.com/news/opinion/2016/12/morning-note-my-no-good-cell-phone-part-11/
http://unioncountyweekly.com/news/opinion/2016/12/morning-note-my-no-good-cell-phone-part-11/#respondWed, 07 Dec 2016 22:21:19 +0000http://unioncountyweekly.com/?p=21192Before I buy a new phone, I need to figure out how I’m going to destroy the one that never seems to wake me up early when I need it.

Should I drop it from a building? Flush it down the toilet? Cover it with peanut butter and throw it in the woods for bears to find?

My hopes of waking up super early for my first production day were dashed. This resulted in probably the most alert I’ve been in two years, but I’m probably going to turn to putty within a few minutes.

While I’ve spent much of the past year at Charlotte Media Group writing about real estate and development, I wanted someone who could give me stories and pictures of people.

I hired Grant Baldwin.

Grant has freelanced for several publications across the region, including the Charlotte Business Journal, Creative Loafing and SouthPark Magazine. I worked with him in 2011 as editor of Mooresville Weekly.

I admire his approach to editorial photography, as well as his creativity and work ethic. He should instantly elevate our pages!

]]>http://unioncountyweekly.com/news/opinion/2016/12/morning-take-lets-get-the-new-guy-settled-in/feed/0Put home security at the top of your holiday checklisthttp://unioncountyweekly.com/news/opinion/2016/12/put-home-security-at-the-top-of-your-holiday-checklist/
http://unioncountyweekly.com/news/opinion/2016/12/put-home-security-at-the-top-of-your-holiday-checklist/#respondTue, 06 Dec 2016 16:03:09 +0000http://unioncountyweekly.com/?p=21161IRVING, Texas – There is often an uptick in home burglaries during the holiday season. In several states, December is the peak month for burglaries as homes are left unattended during the holidays, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

There also is a greater risk of house fires. According to the National Fire Protection Association, winter holiday fires are more severe than the average fire during the year across all loss measures.

“Put your home security system to the test before the holidays,” said Merlin Guilbeau, CEO of the Electronic Security Association. “Knowing your home security system and connected smart home devices are working properly can add an extra layer of comfort during this busy season.”

According to Guilbeau, changing the passwords to your security system and any internet-connected device should be at the top of your list. Choose a password that is difficult for hackers, using a combination of letters, characters and numbers. Don’t retain the username or password that came with the system or device.

Additionally, rename your wireless network so that it is not easily identifiable with your home. When doing so, don’t use personal information, such as your last name or your house number. Ensure your wireless network is encrypted – and has a very strong password.

Guilbeau recommends you also update your home security passcodes and your contact list with your home security monitoring company.

“Delete anyone from the list who should no longer have access to your home. Change your passcodes if necessary and make sure everyone in your home has memorized the new passcodes. Also, provide temporary passcodes to anyone who may need access to your home during the holidays, such as a guest, your housekeeper or a pet sitter.”

Guilbeau suggests these additional items for your home security system check list:

• If you are traveling during the holidays, alert your home security monitoring service and provide your service with detailed contact information. If you don’t have an audio or video verification system, consider installing one so your monitoring company can hear or see what is happening if an alarm is triggered while you are away. If you already have audio or video verification – confirm that it is functioning properly before you leave for your holiday trip.

• Make certain your home security system, smart home devices and smart phone are using the most current software and operating systems. Do a test run to validate that all are properly connected – and working as they should – before you leave home for a holiday trip. Additionally, enable the auto-locking feature on your smartphone and engage features that will make it easy for you to wipe any personal information in the event your device is lost or stolen.

• Check your video surveillance cameras to ensure they are pointing at entryways to your home and capture the areas of your home that you want to monitor while you are away. Test your motion detectors and security lighting systems, as well. Don’t make this a last-minute item on your to-do list.

• Help your elderly parents and loved ones by performing a check of their home security system. While doing so, look into the new smart home technologies that can help your loved ones age in place.

• Immediately schedule a service call if you identify any problems with your home security system.

Visit www.Alarm.org for more details and tips about home security systems.

Today is my first day overseeing South Charlotte Weekly, Union County Weekly, Matthews-Mint Hill Weekly and The Pineville Pilot.

I believe newspapers should empower their communities to be informed and inspire them toward progress. My goal is to encapsulate the issues affecting our communities and present them in a digestible format across our print and digital platforms. Send me your ideas!

Check back tomorrow to see if I still have a job. That’s a joke … hopefully.

]]>http://unioncountyweekly.com/news/opinion/2016/12/its-facebook-official-im-the-new-editor/feed/0PNC Bank offers 8 tips to shop more securelyhttp://unioncountyweekly.com/news/opinion/2016/12/pnc-bank-offers-8-tips-to-shop-more-securely/
http://unioncountyweekly.com/news/opinion/2016/12/pnc-bank-offers-8-tips-to-shop-more-securely/#respondMon, 05 Dec 2016 12:00:13 +0000http://unioncountyweekly.com/?p=21137Consumers are expected to spend more than $650 billion during the upcoming holiday shopping season, with non-store sales projected to increase between 7 and 10 percent, according to the National Retail Federation.

With all the hustle and bustle on a quest to check off everything on your list, don’t forget one of the most important things – security.

Doug Driggers

Doug Driggers, manager of PNC Bank’s Cotswold branch, is providing a few tips to keep your personal and account information more secure over the holidays:

Shields Up – When punching in a Personal Identification Number, or PIN, to authorize an in-store purchase or an ATM transaction, or simply removing a credit card from your wallet, use your hand to shield the numbers. Cellphones are cameras, and can be used for more than capturing embarrassing moments in life to post on social channels.

Look for the lock – Shop only on secure sites by looking for a closed padlock icon, green address bar or a URL that begins with https. Sign up for digital wallets that allow more secure purchases online, such as Visa Checkout, Android Pay or Apple Pay.

Shop online, shop from home – Avoid shopping online using a public Wi-Fi network. Public Wi-Fi may not be as secure, making it easier for your personal information to be compromised. Sign up for alerts from the courier/shipper to notify you of package delivery and to help prevent package theft from your doorstep.

Dip with your chip – Chip card technology helps shield your card information with an extra layer of security when you shop in a store. This technology is more widely available at retailers today and creates a one-time code for each purchase that is impossible for criminals to reuse. Consumers could also look into using digital wallets that allow consumers to make more secure and quick purchases online, such as Visa Checkout, Android Pay or Apple Pay.

Look out for a skimmer – Before using an ATM, check it for signs of an ATM skimmer, which can steal card information. When in doubt, wiggle or pull the card reader or PIN pad. Real ATMs are solidly constructed and won’t have loose parts.

Opt for emailed receipts and statements – Lose the paper trail. No paper receipts, no paper statements delivered to your mailbox eliminates opportunities for the naughty to access any portion of your personal or account information.

Use re-loadable gift cards – Select the re-loadable cards that can be used for purchases at a number of on-line or brick-and-mortar retailers. Load on the dollar amount you’ve budgeted for holiday shopping. These cards are not connected to any of your bank or credit card accounts, keeping your accounts safe in the event of a data compromise. An added benefit, sticking to the amount loaded on the card helps you stay within your budget for the holiday season.

C: Concession. This election has defied convention, so don’t be surprised if Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton snubs the winner by not giving a concession speech. Clinton has said Trump is unfit to lead, while Trump has characterized Clinton as a criminal. Trump hasn’t ruled out contesting the result if he loses.

D: Democrats: Democrats could regain control of the U.S. Senate by reclaiming five seats, which could weaken Republican’s control over Supreme Court nominations, according to Ballotpedia.org. The website lists North Carolina as a battleground state as U.S. Sen. Richard Burr is vulnerable.

E. Education: The approval of a school bond can serve as a litmus test for a community’s confidence in a school district. Aside from a $54 million school bond, Union County voters will also decide on Rebeka Ratliff or Candice Sturdivant for District 1 and Joseph Morreale or Amalie Schoel for District 5 school board seats.

F: Facebook: I’d wait a week until after the election to reactivate your Facebook account to give people time to throw out their sour grapes.

G: Governor: Gov. Pat McCrory faces a true challenge in Roy Cooper, the state’s attorney general since 2001. McCrory has had to explain tough calls like signing HB2 and not intervening on the I-77 toll lanes contract, but the state economy is in a good place. It could be a close race.

H: History. Hillary Clinton could become the first female president, while Donald Trump would be the first president without political or military experience. The spouse of either winner will change the way we view the office of First Lady.

I: Indian Trail: A pair of Indian Trail Democrats are trying to shake-up some Republican-held seats. Pam DeMaria is trying to knock off county commissioner Frank Aikmus or Richard Helms. Indian Trail Town Councilman Gordon Daniels is going after N.C. Rep. Richard Arp’s seat.

J: Jeremy Brasch: Brasch, a Republican, will try to squeak out one of the three Democratic incumbents to become an at-large commissioner for Mecklenburg County. Ella Scarborough seems most vulnerable given she’s not a vocal commissioner and lost the Charlotte Observer’s endorsement.

K: Keep trying: I’d be extremely shocked if Democratic challenger Rochelle Rivas defeated a much more experienced, polished and skilled politician in Bill Brawley for his District 103 House seat. But I hope the small business owner runs for office again, perhaps for a more local seat.

L: Libertarians. Third-party candidates had a fair shot at the presidency with Democrats and Republicans putting forward heavily scrutinized and vilified candidates. But Libertarian Gary Johnson has only grabbed national headlines for being unable to answer questions about international affairs.

M: Mecklenburg County: County commissioners will stay relatively unchanged as five of the six districts are uncontested. Marc Friedland, a Democrat, challenges Republican incumbent Matthew Ridenhour for the District 6 seat. The three at-large seats are being contested by a single challenger.

N: Newspaper endorsements. The Charlotte Observer endorsed mostly Democrats for national, state and Mecklenburg County races. Notable exceptions included Jeff Tarte for N.C. Senate, as well as Matthew Ridenhour and Jeremy Brasch for Mecklenburg commissioner.

O: Obama: Now that Barack Obama is officially a lame duck president, we’ll notice more national news analysis on Obama’s legacy, graying hair and aging skin.

P: Precincts: I’m interested in seeing how southern Mecklenburg and western Union county precincts vote in the presidential race. Several precincts in south Charlotte, Matthews and western Union County preferred Ted Cruz over Donald Trump in the Republican primary. Did they stay within party lines?

Q: Questions: The biggest question I have heading into the election is what will Donald Trump do if he were to lose? What will the cable news channels talk about? Trump TV?

S: South Charlotte. U.S. Congressman Robert Pittenger and his challenger Democrat Christian Cano live just three miles from each other in south Charlotte. Other neighbors seeking ambitious offices include Jacki Cole, a Libertarian candidate for lieutenant governor, and Gov. Pat McCrory.

T: Television: Election Tuesday is not a good night to watch scripted television. If you’re watching network TV, your screen will get smaller from the scrolling results and there may be interruptions to your programming as winners emerge in various races. Tape your shows.

U: Upsets: Municipal elections lend themselves to more upsets than county or state races. I define an upset as a challenger unseating an incumbent or someone less experienced defeating someone more experienced.

V: Voter fraud. Donald Trump’s speculations about a rigged election will prompt increased attention on the ballot and voting process to ensure it’s as clean as possible.

W: WTVI. PBS Charlotte partnered with the League of Women Voters to present a series of debates featuring Mecklenburg County and General Assembly races. LWV of Charlotte-Mecklenburg posted them on YouTube. Watch ‘em!

X: X-factor: Every presidential election since 1980 has been won by the most charismatic candidate. Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush and Obama (yes, I said it, Dukakis fanboys). This is probably the first election since 1976 where the candidates are equally matched when it comes to the X-factor.

Y: Yard signs: Crossing my fingers those annoying yard signs don’t linger like Christmas decorations into 2017. Matthews requires they be removed within five days of the election. Charlotte and Mint Hill require seven days.

Most everyone is aware by now that a $54 million school bond is up for a vote on the Nov. 8 ballot. Representatives from Union County Public Schools and volunteers from the schools targeted to receive these funds have been busy over the last couple of months trying to educate Union County residents about the projects planned. As a parent in the Sun Valley cluster, and a vocal advocate for this community, I have been working alongside many other parents to lobby support for the bond. While six other schools will receive funds for necessary additions and improvements and a new bus depot will be built if the bond is approved, no school stands to benefit more than Sun Valley High School.

So, why should you vote “yes” for the bond?

First, quite simply, people move to Union County primarily for two reasons – lower taxes and a great school system. But, as the $91-million jury decision a couple of years ago showed, when people are given a choice between the two, they choose the schools. If we want Union County to continue to be an attractive place to live and property values to continue to increase, we have to continue to fund our schools adequately. And that means all of our schools.

We have a number of beautiful brand new schools in the county, but we also have many older schools with countless facility needs, none greater than 55-year old Sun Valley High School. The Union County Commissioners provide a limited budget to UCPS for capital improvements and facilities needs each year. That budget is insufficient to keep up with the list of current facility needs that is only going to grow as schools age. As the needs snowball, eventually your child’s school will have needs as well. We must pass this bond in order to address these most pressing needs so that the annual capital budget can be allotted to other less urgent issues.

If approved, $24 million of the bond would go to Sun Valley to add 10 classrooms to accommodate the increasing student population, expanding the inadequate cafeteria and kitchen, renovating the auditorium, adding a chorus room, addressing A/C needs and various infrastructure issues, safety concerns, ADA compliance issues and upgrading all athletic facilities.

If you have been to Sun Valley High School, you know that the needs are there and they are pressing.

Many residents aren’t motivated to vote “yes” because their schools aren’t receiving any funds. Remember, hundreds of millions of dollars from bond funds went to build your beautiful schools and athletic fields and stadiums. We in the Sun Valley community have been paying for that ever since. In fact, we have seen very little return on our tax dollars. We had to beg for a new roof and every high school in the county has had renovations and upgrades to their athletic facilities except Sun Valley, despite the urgent needs noted in the 2009 Comprehensive Facilities Study done by UCPS.

Some in the Sun Valley community itself say they may vote against the bond because they want a brand new school instead. This is a counterproductive position. While building a new school is probably a better use of funds, the county commissioners, in their wisdom, refused to put the funds necessary to build a new school in the bond package. That means that, if the bond should fail, Sun Valley will receive nothing. Our facilities will continue to deteriorate with little hope for improvement. Unfortunately, we must vote “yes” to get as much as we can. We must vote “yes” because it will especially benefit all of us in the Indian Trail and Sun Valley community with regard to property values and community perception. We all have to vote “yes.”

Finally, you should vote for the bonds because, whether or not you and your school will benefit directly from the funds, it is the right thing to do for your neighbors. All of the schools included in the bond package have legitimate needs. But, as a Sun Valley parent, I have to say, it is our turn. We have begged, pleaded and argued first with Union County Public Schools to acknowledge our needs and now with the county commissioners. No one cared about our needs until the recent redistricting and then everyone cared when they thought their children might come to Sun Valley.

It is time to put your money and your vote where your mouth was. Please, vote yes Nov. 8.

Op-eds and letters to the editor to not reflect the views of Charlotte Media Group, and may be edited for clarity.

Will you support the upcoming UCPS bond? Let us know. Email courtney@cmgweekly.com to share your thoughts.

I binge on government meetings. I attend, watch and listen to as many as I can, but like beer, too much of a good thing can make you vomit, get headaches and crave Waffle House (mmm, omelets).

Here are five regional issues that give me hangovers. Just read them out loud in a slurred voice and burp every two minutes to get the intended effect.

HB2: The lingering gas cloud

The NCAA announced Monday, Sept. 12, that it was moving seven championship events from North Carolina this year due to HB2, our state’s stinking bathroom bill.

Think about some of the things Charlotte has missed out on in response to the bill: corporate relocations, national sports events, major concerts, industry conventions and Russell Wilson and Ciara’s lavish wedding (we could have had C-list celebrities here, y’all).

How much more do we have to lose? Forget the politics. Let’s run government more like a business and adjust to customer feedback. It’s not merely entertainment we’re losing. It’s tourism.

The General Assembly needs to write a better law, or at least one that people can’t misconstrue, because I don’t see the anti-North Carolina bandwagon taking any detours.

Members need to reach out to groups that have banned travel and events here and find out how we can reverse the damage. Chatting with transgendered constituents wouldn’t hurt.

Monroe City Council production

Sometimes town attorneys seem like Hollywood directors as they ensure elected leaders closely follow scripts written by demanding state lawmakers.

Mujeeb Shah-Khan spent eight minutes Sept. 6 explaining to the Monroe City Council the process to vote down a zoning map amendment for Dalton’s Cove. The project would have packed 24 homes into 7.5 acres off John Moore Road.

“I make a motion we deny the request, period,” Councilman Lynn Kesiah said.

State law prevents voting down zoning amendments from being so simple.

N.C. General Statute 160A-383 requires councils approve a statement describing whether its action is consistent with a comprehensive plan and explain why the board’s action is in the public interest.

This was especially frustrating to Kesiah, because the council identified a number of pitfalls during a lengthy discussion about the project. He also helped create the land-use plan.

Mecklenburg leadership ‘leake’

Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio and Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Ann Clark are sharp, but they both have to answer to boards with members (not all of them) requiring spoon-feeding and bib-changing.

Commissioner Vilma Leake requires the most attention.

Leake can be an eloquent speaker in the community, but she holds her colleagues back from productive dialogue in the boardroom. She veers off topic and antagonizes others.

She would be just as effective speaking for three minutes during the public comment portion of a meeting than she is actually participating. She’s a great community advocate, bad board member.

The problem is Leake oversees a $1.6 billion county budget. And she’s playing a very dangerous game with CMS right now.

She voted no on a $30 million request from CMS for land acquisition and pre-construction costs for 12 school projects ahead of the 2017 bond referendum, including some in the Matthews, Mint Hill and south Charlotte. Why? West Charlotte High wasn’t included.

CMS has a $2 billion wish list of construction and renovation projects based on overcrowding and conditions. West Charlotte is on the radar, but not high enough yet on the priority list.

Leake is willing to compromise CMS’s integrity to leapfrog a project in her district. If that backfires and anti-school sentiment prevails in the community, her project and all others could be delayed for at least a couple more years if the 2017 bond doesn’t pass.

Bickering in Indian Trail

It will be interesting to see how the dynamics of the Indian Trail Town Council will change following the November election. There are not any town races on the ballot, but Councilman Gordon Daniels is campaigning for Dean Arp’s District 69 seat in the N.C. House of Representatives.

Mayor Michael Alvarez, as well as Councilmen David Cohn and Mark Wireman, have accused Daniels of political grandstanding in recent months by putting items on the agendas with little research.

Cohn even gave an epic speech at the end of one meeting about why he doesn’t trust Daniels. It rivaled the Susan Hawk’s rat and snake speech from the very first season of “Survivor” in 2000.

It’s all very cringe-worthy. It could be worse. They could pretend he’s a ghost and doesn’t exist.

While the council isn’t interested in what Daniels has to say, it’s gone above and beyond what other towns would have done in getting community feedback on the hotel members denied at Sun Valley Commons.

Chicken and egg in Waxhaw

I’ve received a lot of feedback from stories I’ve written about Waxhaw’s efforts to recruit high-end retail and restaurants. The issue doesn’t anger me as much as it perplexes me.

Residents want stores like Trader Joe’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Outback Steakhouse, but not at the expense of increasing housing density or welcoming more fast food restaurants and gas stations.

I struggle to think how this can happen.

One trend around SouthPark is that older office parks are getting redeveloped into small villages. You’ll have townhomes combined with neighborhood services and shops. While you are adding to density, developers are building out street networks and creating more opportunities to walk and bike.

This could happen slowly and more organically downtown. Waxhaw has pieces in place to where it could attract boutiques and fine dining on par with downtown destinations of Davidson or Mooresville.

I grew up in a small town near Mount Airy, North Carolina. We had more cows than people, and more chicken coops than college degrees. When I was in high school, a guy rode his horse to school and left it tied to a tree all day outside.

McDonald’s came to town when I was 17 years old. It was the most action my town had seen since a buffalo got loose on Main Street and ended up on the high school tennis court two years prior.

I’m not making this up.

You can imagine the adjustment it took for me to get used to living in Ballantyne when my husband Chuck and I purchased a house off Johnston Road two years ago. A grocery store less than a minute away! My first experience at Bad Daddy’s! Two Targets within five miles! Blakeney! StoneCrest! A movie theater showing something other than a box office hit from 2002 that costs $3!

Sometimes, I found myself going to Publix for no reason. Chuck grew up in Weddington. He didn’t understand.

I adapted quickly to my Ballantyne way of life. I spent weekends shopping, perfecting our Pottery Barn-inspired home and passively-aggressively suggesting Chuck should mow the lawn so we didn’t get another letter from our Homeowners Association. After a long week of sitting in traffic, either on Johnston Road or Lancaster Highway, depending on which route I incorrectly guessed would be clear that day, weekends were a time to get out and catch up on everything else, so we could move on to the “next big thing” – whatever that might be.

That’s the Catch 22 about living in a place that has it all, like south Charlotte; you can never really have it all. There’s always more to do, more to see, more to buy, more to eat, more to earn. Some people thrive in that environment, but I slowly started to learn I wasn’t one of them.

So I did what every irrational 20-something would do, much to Chuck’s dismay, and pulled up Realtor.com, “just to see what was out there.”

After a few weeks of praying, searching, hesitating, second guessing and obsessing (not always in that order), a farmhouse on six acres in, what I like to call “across the train tracks Waxhaw” crossed our radar. We went out and looked at it, and I noticed the stillness. It was quiet. I didn’t hear cars or sirens or anything. Flashbacks of my redneck, ragtag childhood came to mind, and instead of brushing it aside like I was “better than that now,” I embraced it.

So our Ballantyne house – a house I loved – went on the market. We had 17 showings the next day. HB2 or not, people want to be in south Charlotte.

In a little over a month, we’ll be moving out there. Way out there. We’ll be farther from the grocery store (no more Publix dates), farther from our work and farther from The Frenchie burger at Bad Daddy’s. But I’ve got a pretty good feeling we’ll be a little closer to what really matters.

Ballantyne has been good to us, and I’d like to think we’re parting on good terms. It’s been a great place to live, and boasts some of the best schools, restaurants and people in North Carolina. And, with the Weekly office located just off Johnston and Pineville-Matthews Road, we’ll be seeing each other regularly.

But for Chuck and me, it’s time for change of pace and a breath of fresh air.